Henderson County Now

Around the Town: Fixing up the Bartlett House

Eric Villanueva works on fence at the Bartlett House.

By Loretta Humble/Around the Town

Joy unspeakable! The Malakoff Garden Club, thanks to Georgia O’Keefe and Connie McKinnerney Clancy (mostly Connie), have done the things at the Bartlett House I promised would get done a year and a half ago!

We have a beautiful veranda, reaching around from the back to the side of the place. The inside is still a ruin, but that porch is very substantial and wonderful, capable of supporting a function. I think we may be sitting there sipping a little tea or something soon. You might want to join us.

The other thing we have achieved is completing the fence on the west side of the place, which should slow the vandals down a little bit. You would normally get a Fence Company to handle this, but we did it ourselves this time. It seems the more we cleared the bushes and trash away from the place (with help from a service similar to the Junk removal Melbourne options out there), the more attractive we made it to vandals.

When we got it, you couldn’t see it from the road, but it had glass in most of its windows. Now all the glass is gone. Lots of graffiti on the inside walls. We hope completing the fence will prevent their doing that to our new porch. We are considering several types of aluminum fences at the moment. Continue reading “Around the Town: Fixing up the Bartlett House”

Agriview: Winter weeds and fall fertilizer

Winter annual weeds stand out like a sore thumb, especially when your warm season lawn grass is dormant. They can invade many areas within your landscape, especially those sites where the turf density has been reduced and bare soil exists. Therefore, making sure you go into the winter months with a healthy, dense turfgrass is your best defense against these winter pests. Another approach is to use a pre-emergent herbicide to control them.

Winter annual weeds germinate in the late summer/early fall season. They will live during the winter and mature in the springs, then die. These are plants that come back each year from seed. Examples of winter annual weeds include: annual ryegrass, annual bluegrass, rescue grass, bur-clover, chickweed, henbit and mustard weeds. Control of these weeds can be accomplished, but applications of the correct pre-emergent herbicide have to be made at the proper time. The proper time for Henderson County is early September. When you’re mowing your lawn for the last time of the year, with a craftsman t240 or cordless mower, now’s the time to start putting down treatments to stop the weeds from taking over. Remember, you are controlling germinating seeds – so this pre-emergent herbicide needs to be applied prior to germination. If you are working with a lawn care company, visit with them about their approach to these pests – sometimes they use products that will control the weeds prior to or just after germination. It is always good to have communications between you and the company you are working with. If you don’t currently have a lawn care or garden maintenance company looking after the outdoor space of your property, but you would like one, why not look for services in your area like this – https://www.thecarparkman.co.uk/service/grass-cutting/? Finally, please make sure you read the labels on all pesticides and calibrate your spreader/sprayer. Continue reading “Agriview: Winter weeds and fall fertilizer”

Cain Center newsletter addresses funding

The Cain Center, Inc. sent out a newsletter Friday responding to the Athens City Council’s recent decision on funding.

In the newsletter, the Cain Center, Inc. says it is “immensely grateful for the City’s continued support.”

It also points out that the new funding plan by the City Council still leaves the Cain Center short about $30,000 in its operating budget, so there is still work to do.

Below is the entire newsletter:

Response to City Funding

We want to thank everyone who showed their support for the Cain Center in the Athens City Council special session last Monday and made your opinions known. Your continued support has helped ensure the Cain Center will be preserved for all current and future citizens of Athens and Henderson County!

It was announced that the City of Athens will continue to provide an estimated $64,000 earmarked for water, sewer, and insurance for the Cain Center. Additionally, the Cain Center will receive $50,000 for general use as well as have access to $100,000 earmarked for capital repairs on the roof and exterior walls contingent on City approval. We are immensely grateful for the City’s continued support.

So what does this mean for the Cain Center? In the current fiscal year ending September 30th, the Cain Center received $130,000 for general use from the City. General funds for the upcoming fiscal year total $50,000 or an $80,000 reduction in operating funds. The Cain Center Board of Directors President Cliff Bomer announced that through a joint effort by himself and Steve Grant the Cain Center has received pledges of $50,000 to date from local supporters. According to the proposed operating budget for the upcoming fiscal year beginning October 1st, which includes many changes to the internal operations of the Cain Center, we still need to raise at least $30,000 to balance the budget. Our immediate goal is to raise enough to balance our proposed operating budget then develop a plan to start improving the facility itself.

Continue to monitor our Facebook page as news develops regarding our funding going forward.

Don’t forget, the Cain Center is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization so any donations or contributions you make are tax-deductible! For more information on how you can get involved give us a call or send an email [email protected]

Malakoff City Council accepts police chief’s resignation

The Malakoff City Council this week accepted the resignation of the police chief, Billy Mitchell.

Mitchell had been with the city since 2006. Before that, he was with the Ennis Police Department. In total, he was a police officer for more than 30 years.

Mitchell said he decided to leave the profession because of the issues facing police officers across the country. Continue reading “Malakoff City Council accepts police chief’s resignation”

Weekly Podcast: Cain Center funding, Changes in GBC leadership, and Back to School

Weekly Podcast, Aug. 28

I. Cain Center funding

A. Athens City Council Changes decision about funding.

B. Funding to other organizations.

II. Changes in leadership at Gun Barrel City.

A. GBC has seen the departures of both the mayor and president of the EDC this month.

III. Back to School

A. Please be careful when driving.

V. Shout Outs.

A. Michael: Danny’s BBQ.

B. Garrett: Athens ISD Hornets.

C. Jeff: Extreme Engineering in Athens.